BEAUMONT, Texas – As the season starts to wind down, the Lamar University volleyball enter a crucial three-match week as they look to secure a spot in the conference tournament. They travel to play Houston Christian (Tuesday) and Incarnate Word (Saturday) with a home contest in the middle against Northwestern State (Thursday).
Despite a rough campaign so far for the youthful Cardinals (1-21/1-10 SLC) who boast a roster featuring 11 freshmen players, the team looks to finish the season strong as they gain valuable experience late in the year.
Lamar is currently tied for ninth in the standings with Nicholls who they beat earlier in the season and sit just a win back of New Orleans. A Lamar win this week could move the Cardinals into a tie for the final playoff spot with New Orleans who they play in the final game of the regular season.
Houston Christian is currently fighting for seeding in the conference as they currently sit in fourth place with only a half-game cushion. HCU (12-11/7-4 SLC) only finds themselves a game out of third place and have won three of their last five matches including two in three sets.
The all-time history between these two schools has not been in Lamar's favor. HCU leads the series, 8-13, which includes the last eight matches. Lamar is looking for their first win at HCU since 2016.
Thursday sees the Cardinals back home at McDonald Gym to face off against Northwestern State who currently trail HCU by half a game in fifth place in the conference standings. Northwestern State (11-12/7-5 SLC) have also won three of their last five matches but host Texas A&M-Commerce Tuesday before traveling to Beaumont.
Lamar leads the all-time series with Northwestern State, 25-19, which dates back to the 1982 season. The Cardinals are 13-10 all-time at home against the Demons and look to strengthen that record on Thursday.
UIW – the league's other Cardinals – have gained a two-game cushion at seventh in the conference standings after their win at Lamar last week. Despite having just four conference wins on the year, UIW (12-11/4-7 SLC) is playing some of its best volleyball right now. San Antonio's version of the Cardinals had won three consecutive matches before a lost to HCU this past Saturday. UIW travels to face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and McNeese before hosting Lamar on Saturday.
The western-most Cardinals are ahead in the all-time series leading 3-11. Lamar looks for their first win in San Antonio since the first time these two teams battled in 2013.
Tuesday's match against HCU will start at 6:30 p.m. while Saturday's contest against UIW will begin at 1 p.m. The match against Northwestern State will take place at McDonald Gym on Thursday at 6 p.m. with all matches being streamed on ESPN+.
